SC: Marcoses have no ownership right over 57-hectare Paoay property

The Marcos family has no ownership right over a 57-hectare property in Paoay town in Ilocos Norte, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled, as it is ill-gotten wealth from an unconstitutional lease by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

- Daphne Galvez

In a 55-page decision promulgated in November 2023 but made public on Wednesday, the SC ruled as unconstitutional the 25-year lease contract signed in December 1978 between the late president and the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), which is now the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

In the lease agreement, the property was rented out to the PTA at a low rate of P1 per year for 25 years, as part of efforts to develop the Paoay Lake area as a tourist destination.

The PTA would shoulder the cost of developments in the area, including the Malacañang of the North and a sports complex with a tennis court and a golf course.

The high court said “there is no showing” that the late dictator owned the land when the lease was executed.